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MST3K 903 - The Pumaman
The Movie Synopsis Low-budget superhero flick about a young man, Tony Farms, given a mystical belt by a South American shaman, Vadinho, in order to become a puma-empowered champion like his father before him. An ancient gold mask originally from somewhere in the Andes Mountains winds up in the hands of a Bond-villain wannabe by the name of Kobras (Donald Pleasence) who then uses its power to magically control the minds of influential persons, and those who work for him. Initially, Tony fails utterly at stopping Kobras, whines about how hard being the Pumaman is, and decides to quit altogether. This leaves Vadinho (the movie's actual hero) to attempt to take out Kobras in a suicide bombing that is soon thwarted. Later, Tony decides that being Pumaman is not so bad. He helps punch a few people, and then has an unusually hard time subduing the elderly Kobras before eventually killing him. It is also revealed that aliens created mankind, are responsible for the Pumaman, and for some reason created the mask and left it on Earth even though its very existence contradicts everything they claim to represent. (As Vadinho repeatedly says, the aliens believe in freedom for all, yet the mask seemingly has no other use than to control people's minds for the purpose of evil.)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081693/plotsummary Information The star of the film, Walter G. Alton, Jr, is a New York City medical malpractice attorney who moonlighted briefly as an actor. As of February 2010, the website of his practice is Altonlawfirm.com. Paul Chaplin has been noted as thinking the movie was probably intended to be taken comedically. The Episode Host Segments *Prologue :Servo struggles with Short Man's Disease. *Host Segment 1 :Servo overcomes his disability; Pearl throws a ball in the castle but no one shows up for it, though Ortega and a few other friends come over to watch Sliders with Brain Guy *Host Sement 2 :Mike wants the dry look hairstyle like the guy in the movie, but angers Shelli the Nanite who makes his look perhaps a little too dry. *Host Segment 3 :Mike is chosen by the "gods" to be Coatimundi Man complete with powers, theme music, and a haphazard costume (a Rhoda vest, a Dr. Who scarf, swimming flippers on his hands, and a giant foam cowboy hat). *Host Segment 4 :Crow and Servo use their "genuine Aztec mask" to control Roger Whittaker. *Epilogue :Crow "quits" and wanders around the Satellite for a while, but quickly returns. Pearl feels dejected that no one came to her ball, so Roger Whittaker is sent to cheer her up. :*Stinger - Tony gets thrown out the window, and blue-screen falls to the ground. Quotes & References * "No one knows who they were or what they were doing... ''" A line from the movie ''This Is Spinal Tap where guitarist Nigel introduces the Stonehenge song in concert. * "Jane?" "Are you getting serious?" Refers to Jon Astley's 1987 hit, Jane's Getting Serious. *''"Actually, he's John Davidson Man."'' John Davidson was an equally bland TV personality from the 70s and 80s who our hero resembled. *"My name is Vadinho." "I'm an onion." Probably referring to a type of sweet onion Vidalia and how pronouncing it sounds similar to 'Vadinho'. *''"Dick's Red Owl, selection and service . . . "'' Dick's Red Owl used to be a grocery store in Bisbee, North Dakota. *''"Dorf on Rituals."'' Dorf is a diminutive character played by Tim Conway in a series of comedy videos such as "Dorf on Golf". * "The Botany 500 Man." Botany 500 is an American clothing line. *''"I can't get the piña colada song out of my head."'' A reference to Escape (a.k.a. 'The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes. The song is significant from an MST3K perspective as it was deconstructed by Joel Robinson for Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot in a host segment for Monster A-Go Go. *"Barry Diller, here?" Barry Diller is an influential television and film executive. *''"Alright, Craig T. Nelson. Make me laugh."'' A reference to actor Craig T. Nelson, who appeared in such productions as Poltergeist and the TV series Coach. *''"Then they snagged on me, and called me Prince Valiant..."'' Prince Valiant was a comic strip that began running in 1937. The remark comes from the title character and Vadinho having similar hairstyles. * "Nice one, Alpaca Man." Alpacas are animals related to llamas. *''"He's as cat-like as Boog Powell."'' John Wesley "Boog" Powell is a former MLB player for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and L.A. Dodgers. Powell was a large, imposing player with no real fielding skills. *''"Billions and billions of pumamen."'' Servo says this in Carl Sagan's idiosyncratic voice in reference to the documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. *''"Take THAT members of 'Boston'."'' Boston is an American rock band that was prominent during the 70's. They're best known for their songs 'More Than a Feeling' and 'Peace of Mind.' The thugs being tossed by Vadinho slightly resemble them. *''"Believe it or not, this movie's still on. It should have ended two hours ago." Crow sings this to the tune of "Believe or Not", the theme song of ''The Greatest American Hero, a TV series that aired on NBC from 1981 to 1983 about a schoolteacher who gains superpowers from a superhero suit obtained from alien beings. Also, possibly unintended but still an apt comparison, the show's hero lost the manual for his super-suit and was consequently very awkward in using its powers. Like Pumaman is, but intentionally so. *''"With Randall 'Tex' Cobb as the mask!"'' Randall "Tex" Cobb was a boxer in the 1970s, who later played a string of tough guys in movies, most notably Raising Arizona. The nose of the mask resembles Cobb's wide, flat nose. *"Yeah, thanks Castaneda." Carlos Casteneda wrote a series of books on the teachings of a Yaqui wise man named Don Juan. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 9 Category:Foreign Film Category:80s Movie Category:Unrated movies Category:Episodes directed by Michael J. Nelson